Yes or no to the Park West Drain? Residents don't agree

Sunday

Jul 13, 2014 at 7:00 AM

By Annette.Manwell@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4270

Since it was deemed necessary by a Board of Determination, the Park West Drain has been disputed in Park Township.The divide has been obvious from day one: Those whose properties flooded asking others to remember why the drain is necessary. Those who are opposed worry about the cost, the assessment to the property owners in the drain district and possible environmental effects.The divide could be seen last month as Leisure Acres, a subdivision off 168th Avenue south of James Street, hashed out misunderstandings and differences of opinions. This one small subdivision of about 60 homes illustrates the divide in the township.The Park West Drain is the result of the serious flooding of 2008 and 2009. The original plan from now-retired Drain Commissioner Paul Geerlings called for underground pipes and ditches to carry water away from the area to Winstrom Creek and eventually Lake Macatawa.After winning the election in 2012, Ottawa County Water Resources Commissioner Joe Bush set to reinventing the drain with green infrastructure. His plan calls for bioswales that are meant to absorb and filter the rainwater as opposed to pushing it into Lake Macatawa.The map on the water resource commissioner’s page of the Ottawa County website showing the drain district shows the proposed bioswale going through Leisure Acres along Leisure Boulevard near the retention pond built in 1996 when the subdivision was built. A portion of the drain permit application to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality lists the basin as part of the drain system, and “work will consist of brushing, grading landscaping and installation of inlet and outlet structures in the existing basin.”The dispute at Leisure Acres started from a misunderstanding and false information from staunch drain opponents, Bush said. Surveying was done there, but that isn’t his plan. The drainage system in the subdivision is an orphan drain that he doesn’t have control over yet, he said.A petition was sent out by Leisure Acres Homeowners Association President Dan Ritsema asking those in subdivision to sign it in opposition to the drain and particularly the idea that a dry basin built into the subdivision would be used as a catch basin for the drain.Leisure Acre resident Brian Douthitt countered the petition from Ritsema, saying some of the information Ritsema provided “simply is not correct.”Ritsema claimed the subdivision had no problems during the flooding. Douthitt said it did and that he was there at the time.“People of good will can come to different conclusions about this,” Douthitt wrote. “And I disagree with the board. The Park West Drain will provide better management of surface water run-off and ground water discharge all the way to Winstrom Wetlands.”Douthitt’s neighbor joined him in opposing the board. Deanna Hansen wrote she was greatly disturbed by the misinformation that was distributed.Ritsema’s petition read that “we do not have a problem, never did and never will.” Hansen wrote she was affected and even had to move and spend a lot of money to prevent similar severe damage again in the future.“I am offended by this dishonest statement,” she wrote.In a phone interview with The Sentinel, Douthitt said the response following the letters was disappointing and underwhelming.Some of the opposition could be with potential assessment on properties within the drain district. Ritsema’s petition said it could cost $1,000 to $1,500 per person in the each household. However, the assessment is charged per property and will be based on a variety of factors.“Even at twice that amount, it would be money well spent,” Douthitt said.Park Township is notorious for a high water table, he said. In past decades township officials did not impose a minimum basement elevation on new construction, Douthitt said. His basement is lower than it should be, and he’s not alone.In the meantime, Bush continues to push forward on the drain. He received the MDEQ permit for the drain late last month and sent the project to bid. The bids are due by Aug. 7, he said.— Follow this reporter on Facebook or Twitter, @SentinelNetty.